Apparatus for coating sheet-metal plates



Sheets-Sheet 1. O. G. ROBERTS & L. S. STODDARD. APPARATUS FOR COATINGSHEET METAL PLATES.

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O. O. ROBERTS & L. S. STODDARD. APPARATUS FOR COATING SHEET METALPLATES.

Patented Aug. 17,1897.

Mar

I ata v UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

- CHARLES C. ROBERTS AND LEWIS S. STODDARD, OF ANSONIA, CONNEOTIOUT.

APPARATUS FOR COATING SHEET-METAL PLATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 588,478, dated August17, 1897. Application filed. October 10,1896. SerialNo. 608,615. (Nomodel.)

. To all whom it may concern:

. improvements.

Be it known that we, CHARLES'C. ROBERTS and LEwIs S. STODDARD,citizeI]Softhe United States, residing at Ansonia, in the county of New Haven andState of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements inApparatus for Coating Sheet-Metal Plates, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to apparatus for coating sheet-metal plates withtin'or tin alloys, leaded tin, or the like molten metal; and it consistsin features of construction and novel combinations of devices for use intinning sheet metal, as hereinafter particularly described and claimed.

In the annexed drawings, illustrating our invention, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a sheet-metal-tinnin g apparatus embodying our Fig. 2 is apart vertical longitudinal section of the delivery end of the apparatusor machine. Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section of the delivery end of themachine. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the shafts or divided shaft fortransmitting power, first in one direction and then in an oppositedirection, to operate the rotary wiping-brushes.

The frame of the machine may comprise the longitudinal beams 1,supportedby uprights 2, that may be braced by cross-bars 3, arranged atany suitable points.

The molten metal to be used in tinning or coating metal sheets iscontained in a series of pots 4,, set in a furnace 5, arranged at thebase of the apparatus.

For the purpose of applying the molten metal to the under side of asheet-metal plate we prefer to arrange in each pot one or morecarrier-rolls 6, provided with suitable recesses or pockets 7, intowhich will enter the molten metal as the roll or rolls revolve therein.These'recesses or pockets 7 may have any suitable or preferred form andarrangement.

As shown, for instance, in the left side of Figs. 2 and 3 the pockets orrecesses may be extended lengthwise of the carrier-rolls and may haveinclined sides so arranged that as the roll rotates the molten metaltaken up in the said pockets or; recesses will gradually flow out of thesame and spread itself over the periphery of the roll, thus facilitatingits application to. the under side of the metal of causing the moltenmetal to flow over the roll-periphery, and in a series of rolls severaldifferent forms of pockets may be employed, if desired.

.The metal sheet or plate to be coated is held down onto thecarrier-rolls 6 by means of pressure-rolls S, which are geared with andrevolved from the said carrier-rolls in such manner as to feed the metalsheet or plate forward as the coating is applied. These pressure-rolls 8are preferably provided at intervals with collars 9,designed to relievethe pressure on the metal sheet or plate sufficiently to preventspatter-ingot the molten metal over the sheet or plate edges. The lowerrolls 6 in each pot are jo urn aled in vertically-adjustable side pieces10, and the upper rolls 8 are journaled in'boxes 11, that are mounted insaid side pieces and provided with adj ustingscrews 12 for regulatingthe pressure on the inetal'sheet or plate. One pair of side pieces 10 isprovided for the set of rolls pertaining to each pot. These side piecesare provided at their ends with vertically-extended rackbars13, theupper ends of which are provided with offsets or shoulders 14: to reston the beams 1 when the rolls are lowered to the fullest extent.

In hangers 15, depending from the beams 1, there are mounted on oppositesides of the machine two longitudinally-arrangedshafts 16, on whichpinions 17 are keyed or splined at suitable points in position to meshwith the racks 13 for raising and lowering the hereinbefore-describedrolls. If it is desired to raise or lower the rollsof one or more potsand leave others undisturbed, some of the pinions 17 may be shifted outof mesh with the rack-bars to which they pertain, and thus the rolls ofthe several pots may be raised or lowered independently orsimultaneously, as

desired. As a means for operating the pinions 17 each shaft 16 may havesecured thereon a disk 18, provided with peripheral recesses forinsertion of a hand'bar or lever to rotate the pinion-shafts, or thesaid shafts may be provided with hand-wheels or any suitable operatingmechanism. In order to lock the pinion-shafts, they may be provided withpawl-and-ratchet mechanism 19, Figs. 1 and 2, or any suitable device.

The shafts of the rolls 6 and 8 are extended beyond the side pieces 10,as shown in Fig. On one end of the shaft of each lower roll 6 is secureda worm-wheel 20, meshing with and driven from a worm thread or screw 21,formed at intervals on a shaft 22, journaled in bearings 23, secured tothe uprights 2 at the ends of the machine-frame. This shaft 22 may bedriven by power applied through bevel-gearing 24, Fig. 1, or in anyother convenient manner. On the opposite end of each lower-roll shaft isa spur-gear 25, meshing with a pinion 26 on the shaft of thecorresponding upper roll 8, as shown in Fig. 3, for driving the upperrolls from the lower ones.

\Vhile the sheetor plate of metal to be coated or tinned is being fedforward by the rolls (3 and S, the revolutions of the lower rolls 6cause their pockets to take up molten metal from the quantity containedin the pots 4, and at a certain point in the revolution of each pocketedor recessed roll the molten metal in the pockets starts to flow slowlybackward and outward, thus covering the face or periphery of the rollwith molten stock free from all dross. Now as the metal sheets pass overthe lower or carrier rolls 6, pressed down by the top rolls 8, theyreceive a thorough coating on the under side, leaving the upper side ofthe sheet or plate free from all spatters. The metal sheet or platenextpasses over a series of wipers 27, to which reciprocating movementis imparted forthe purpose of wiping off from the plate or sheet allsurplus stock and permitting it to flow back into the last pot of theseries.

The wipers 27 may consist of flax, or sheepskin with the wool on, orother suitable material, or they may comprise a series of ribs, bars, orfingers covered with suitable wiping material. These reciprocatingwipers 27 are attached in any convenient and secure manner to ahorizontal plate 28, supported in guideways 29 at the farther side ofthe last pot inthe series, and beneath is a passage 30, through whichthe surplus coating metal can drop back into the pot. In order toprovide for reciprocating the wipers 27, the supporting-plate 28 isprovided at its ends with arms 31, Fig. 3, for attachment ofconnecting-rods 32 for transmittingmotion from eccentrics 33, connectedwith rotary wiping-brushes to be presently described. Above thereciprocating wipers 27 is a collared pressure-roller 34, arranged tobear on the upper side of the metal sheet or plate and driven in thesame direction as the upper rolls 8 by means of sprocket-gearing 35,Fig. 3, from the shaft of the last upper roll.

From the reciprocating wipers 27 and accompanying pressure-roller 34 themetal sheet or plate next passes to a finishing mechanism comprising apair of rotary wiping-brushes 36 and 37, arranged one above the other.These rotary brushes 36 and 37 consist of rolls that are longitudinallygrooved or recessed for reception of strips 38, of wool, coveredsheepskin, flax, or suitable wiping and burnishing material, held inplace by filling pieces or strips 39, secured by bolts or screws 40,Figs. 2 and 3. As shown in Fig. l, the rotary brushes 3G and 37 aregeared together to normally revolve in the same direction as thecarrier-rolls and pressure-rolls. The lower rotary brush 36 has itsshaft journaled in boxes 41, Fig. 1, provided with screws 42 forvertical adjustment in the frame or standards 43, in which both brushesare mounted.

The shaft of the upper rotary brush is extended at both ends and carriesthereon the eccentrics 33, from which the reciprocating wipers 27 areactuated. The upper-rotarybrush shaft is also provided near its endswith spur-gears 44, each of which is capable of being clutched ornnclutched, to be made either fast or loose with the brush-shat't, so asto permit a rotation of the brushes either for ward or backward andallow their direction of rotation to be reversed as required. This isaccomplished by-means of a divided counter-shaft or rather two shafts 45and 46, Fig. 4, mounted end to end at a suitable distance apart inhangers 47, as shown. Each of these shafts 45 and 46 carries a spur-gear48 for meshing with one of the spur-gears 44 on the shaft of the upperrotary brush. Each of said shafts also carries a pulley 49 forattachment of belting 50, the only dilference being that the belting ofone pulley is arranged to drive its shaft in one direction, while theother pulley is driven to rotate its shaft in the opposite direction.

The position of the spur-gears 44 on the shaft of the upper rotary brush37 is controlled through any suitable clutches 51, connected by levers52 with a shipper-bar 53, by means of which either gear 44 can beshifted to mesh with its driving-gear 48, while at the same instant theother gears 44 and 48 will be thrown out of mesh, thus providing foractuating the rotary brushes 36 and 37 from either the shaft 45 or theshaft 46, according to the direction in which it is desired to revolvesaid brushes. In the greater part of the operation of the machine theshipper-bar 53 is set to cause rotation of the brushes 36 and 37 in thesame direction that the sheet or plate of metal is moving; but while therear end of the metal sheet or plate is passing between these brushestheir direction of rotation is reversed by shifting the shipper-bar 53,so that the coating metal will be brushed backward to finish the rearend of the sheet as completely and neatly as the forward end.

It is preferable to provide the machine with both brushes 36-and 37, forwhile only the lower brush 36 is immediately concerned in the operationof coating the under side of a metal sheetthe upper brush 37 will serveto wipe off any beads of molten metal that might pass upward over theedges of the sheet or plate, especially if the edges should be broken orirregular, as is frequently the case, also, as the metal sheet or plateis generally to be tinned or coated on both sides the upper brush willwipe off any dirt or oxid from the already-tinned surface and give theplate the same finish on both sides.

From the rotary wiping-brushes 36 and 37 the coated metal sheet or platepasses between perforated cold-air-blast pipes 54, arranged close to thesaid brushes and adapted to deliver currents of cold air onto the upperand lower sides of the metal plate or sheet to cool the same and set thecoating of tin or leaded tin so that it will not 'smear. The tinned orcoated sheet next passes between a pair of small-diameter rolls 55,connected by gears 56, Fig. 3, and driven by sprocketgearing 57 orotherwise at the same speed and in the same direction as thecarrier-rolls hereinbefore described. As the metal sheet passes betweenthese rolls 55 the shipper-bar 53 should be shifted by themachine-operator to reverse the direction of rotation of the brushes 36and 37 and thus cause the last end of the sheet to be wiped as carefullyand neatly as the forward end. This completes the operation of themachine in applying the coating metal to one side of the metal plate orsheet, and in order to tin or coat both sides it is only necessary toreverse the sheets and repeat the operation already described.

The cold-air-blast pipes 54 may connect with a blower 58 in anyconvenient manner.

What we claim as our invention is- 1. In apparatus for tinning metalsheets or plates, the combination of a pot for molten metal, a rollmounted to rotate in said pot and provided with a number of pockets orrecesses to receive the molten metal and permit it to [low over theperiphery or face of the roll, a pressure-roll to hold down the metalplate or sheet onto said pocketed roll, gearing for rotating said rollsto carry the sheet or plate forward, and means for removing surpluscoating metal and finishing the coated metal plate or sheet,substantially as de-' scribed.

2. In apparatus for tinning metal sheets or plates, the combination of aseries of furnaceheated pots for molten metal, rolls mounted to rotatein said pots and each provided with 'a number of pockets or recessesadapted to. take up the molten metal and permit it to flow over thefaces of the several rolls, a series of pressure-rolls to assist infeeding the metal plate or sheet forward and to hold it down onto thepocketed rolls, a series of reciprocating wipers for acting on the underside of the metal sheet or plate to remove surplus coating metal andpermit its return to the last pot of the. series, and rotarywipingbrushes for finishing off the coated metal plate or sheet,substantially as described.

In apparatus for tinning metal sheets or plates, the combination with apot for molten metal, of a roll orrolls mounted to rotate in said potand provided with a number of recesses or pockets to receive the moltenmetal, the sides of said recesses or pockets being inclined in such.direction that at a certain point in the rotation of the roll or rollsthe molten metal will flow out from said pockets or recesses and spreadover the roll or rolls, one or more pressure-rolls to hold the plate orsheet of metal onto the pocketed roll or rolls, and means for removingsurplus metal from the under side of the metal sheet or plate,substantially as described.

4. In apparatus for tinning metal sheets or plates, the combination withmechanism for applying coating metal to a plate or sheet, of rotarywipin g-brushes mounted and arranged one above the other to operate onboth the upper and lower sides of said sheet or plate, the shafts of thesaid upper and lower brushes being geared together, the shafts 45 and 46mounted adjacent to one of said brushes in line with each other andarranged to be re volved in opposite directions, gearing to connect saidshafts with a brush-shaft, and means for shifting said gearing toreverse the direction of rotation in the brushes, substantially asdescribed.

5. In apparatus for tinning metal sheets or 7 plates, the combination ofrecessed rolls for applying a metalcoatin g to the sheet or plate, aseries of pots for containing molten metal and in which said rolls arearranged, hori- .zontally-reciprocating wipers for removing surpluscoating from the under side of a metal sheet, rotary wiping-brushesbetween which the metal plate or sheet is passed, and means forreversing the rotation of said brushes to cause the metal sheets to befinished cleanly to their ends, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

CHARLES C. ROBERTS. LEWVIS S. S'IODDARD.

Witnesses:

AUSTIN P. KIRKHAM, H. J. DUGAN.

